This episode fleshes out the time-jump from our teen actors into adults, and the amount of time that hasn’t passed may come as a surprise. Once you get past that, you’re set for the rest of the episode – which takes a magnifying glass to the aftermath of a relationship once you, yunno, fail to kill the other person in it.

EPISODE 5 RECAP

Jang-il continues to look terrified as Sun-woo fights off the male nurses who attempt to subdue him. All the while Sun-woo screams for help, and Jang-il watches helplessly even as his former-friend-he-tried-to-brutally-murder is forcibly strapped down to a bed.

He escapes outside as if to dry heave per the usual, and Soo-mi watches from a nearby window. I wonder how much she really knows.

So it seems as though only a few years have passed, since Jang-il is still in school and about to take the bar exam. (I know, let’s roll with it.) A run-in with his father at the market reveals that both of them are nervous about Sun-woo, though Yong-bae seems comforted by the fact that Sun-woo isn’t in his right mind.

It’s only on the train ride back to Seoul that Jang-il says aloud, “I’m never going back.”

When we finally encounter grown-up Ji-won (Lee Bo-young), she’s helping a blind person cross the street. I bet that skill is going to come in handy later.

Back in the hospital, Soo-mi gently calls Sun-woo to wake up. He opens his eyes to see the bouquet of flowers she’s brought him, and smells them with a smile on his face. When she mentions the lack of a vase he directs her to an empty one in the corner of the room… which starts to mysteriously fill itself with water. Creepy, but cool.

Aww, he’s so cheerful as he places the vase on the windowsill, all happy because he can see. But he’s a poor decorator and places the vase so that it crashes to the ground and breaks, which effectively wakes him up from his dream.

His reality is much more grim, where there’s no sunlight (or even light for that matter, seeing as he’s blind), and where his limbs are still in restraints. Soo-mi is still there by his bedside with a caring voice, although she has no idea what he’s talking about when he asks what she did with the flowers. There were no flowers.

She goes to tell the doctor to take off his restraints, and Sun-woo starts thrashing about in his bed again. “What’s wrong with my eyes? Do I not have eyes? I can feel my eyes moving!” he screams helplessly. He’s so confused, poor baby. He starts frantically calling for Soo-mi in the darkness.

This episode is doing a bang-up job in making me feel absolutely terrible for Sun-woo. He’s left alone during the day as everyone else gets to watch and laugh at the TV, while he can only stare into nothingness. His gangster friend (who’s also switched actors), Geum-jool, comes with a fresh change of clothes for Sun-woo’s discharge.

Left to his own devices, Sun-woo puts his shirt on backwards. The expression on his face is nine kinds of sad when he realizes he has to fix it, and that he’s helpless to do so. Aww.

Geum-jool leads him back to his house, which is just the way he left it for [insert undisclosed amount of time here]. Sun-woo stumbles inside once he insists he can find his way alone. He can’t see the picture on the desk of him and his father, but his expression changes when he feels the frame.

A voice comes from the front door – it’s Yong-bae, who’s come to visit. Upon hearing his voice, Sun-woo instinctively grabs his own throat with his hand. It might be a throwaway gesture, but that is how Yong-bae killed his father.

He does his best to seem fine, and even walks outside to greet Yong-bae. It’s easy to tell that Sun-woo is blind and struggling, so even Yong-bae seems to feel pity, since he’s brought rice cakes with him. Sun-woo’s memory is spotty even when it comes to Jang-il, and the most he can remember is that they were classmates.

Memories bring headaches for Sun-woo, who first says that he should ask his father before he goes anywhere, and then remembers that his father died when he was little (close, but no cigar, Sun-woo). Upon admitting that he’s gotten forgetful Yong-bae’s eyes fill with tears – the sight of Sun-woo has brought him a whole new wave of guilt for what he’s done.

Sun-woo can hear him crying, however much Yong-bae tries to deny it. “Why are you crying?” he finally asks, but Yong-bae has already high-tailed it out of there.

It’s ironic, then, that Jang-il gives a presentation to his classmates on the sanctity of human life while we intercut to scenes of Sun-woo being unable to even get himself a bottle of water (he ends up drinking vinegar instead). While Jang-il basks in his own sense of righteousness, the man he failed to kill wallows in his suffering.

Kwang-choon, Soo-mi, and Geum-jool powwow over what’s to be done with Sun-woo – they can’t just let him waste away in his room like he’s been doing. Surgery seems like the best option, but for that he’ll have to go to Seoul – and luckily he has some insurance money to his name to possibly pay for it. Only he has no one in the city.

They end up talking about Jang-il’s visit to Sun-woo, though it was on the day where he was shouting and panicking. Sun-woo can hear them from inside and remembers grabbing onto Jang-il in the hospital… and then we hear: “Why did you do that, Jang-il? We were friends. Why did you try to kill me?” Oooohhh. Is the spotty memory all an act?

Soo-mi calls Jang-il, who’s unhappy that she found his number. She wants to know if he has any idea where Sun-woo could stay in Seoul (wouldn’t it be just epic if Sun-woo and Jang-il became temporary roommates? Oh, the possibilities), and he’s quick to reply that he doesn’t. But against his better judgment he can’t help but ask after Sun-woo’s health.

She tells him that his memory is unstable, and that all Sun-woo can remember is that he and Jang-il were close. She’s quick to add that Jang-il shouldn’t feel too bad for what happened to Sun-woo – some things in life are just inevitable that way. (So, does she know, or not?)

Geum-jool volunteers to lead Sun-woo to the cabin in the woods he owned with his father, which is now being seized by the landowner. This is the same trail he walked when he found his father dead, and Sun-woo senses it. Taking a head start running, he falls… and suddenly we’re in the memory with Young Sun-woo, having fallen after hitting his dead father’s hanging legs.

This triggers a string of flashbacks for Sun-woo, who remembers everything – including his father’s death, and being hit in the head by Jang-il. Faced with these horrible memories he begins to thrash wildly on the ground, screaming.

Chairman Jin gets the word that Tae-joo has gone looking for his son. Yong-bae is still doing odd jobs for him, and is charged with taking care of Chairman Jin’s country home since he’ll be spending most of his time in Seoul.

His car is forced to stop behind a taxi for Geum-jool and Sun-woo just ahead, and Chairman Jin seems to recognize Sun-woo. We flash back to some of his memories with his previous fiancée, Eun-hae, and how he was head over heels in love with her. Which only made him that much more afraid to lose her.

Unfortunately some of his flashbacks show some close behavior between Eun-hae and Tae-joo, and one specifically where she tells Tae-joo she’s pregnant and asks him not to tell Chairman Jin. It looks possible that Tae-joo really could be Sun-woo’s father, unless he was just a close confidante of Eun-hae’s.

Whatever the case, Chairman Jin is deeply affected by the memories. There’s an interesting moment where he tells Secretary Cha that he has no heartbreaking memories in his life, because he erased them all – they were only weighing him down. Well, we know that’s a lie.

Sun-woo’s been locking himself away from the world, and no amount of pleading from Geum-jool will get the door open. That’s why Soo-mi comes with a hammer to break the lock. Ha, I like this girl.

She’s upset to find Sun-woo sitting there, food uneaten. She berates him for trying to die like this – why did he even bother to wake up in the first place, then?

Kwang-choon and Geum-jool have a funny exchange outside that includes some jinxing, until Soo-mi comes to break up the affair. She tells them that she’s going to call Jang-il to come from Seoul – maybe Sun-woo needs a close friend to comfort him out of his sadness. Not a good idea, but okay.

Inside, Kwang-choon toes Sun-woo’s body and asks him if he plans on dying. Why live, anyway? He’s got all his arms and legs and good looks, not to mention the caring neighbors that come to take care of him every day. That’s enough reason to just die, right?

It’s only when Kwang-choon asks whether Sun-woo’s fall was truly an accident that Sun-woo sits up to pay attention. It’s in a despondent voice that he asks Kwang-choon if he knows anything about his accident, which he swiftly denies.

Kwang-choon, the smart man that he is, guesses that Sun-woo is pretending not to remember. “Just because you can’t do anything right now,” he advises, “it doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything forever. Don’t forget.” Sun-woo’s had enough, and sends him away.

Chairman Jin’s wife and daughter attend a fancy department store gala, where she seems more than happy to brag. Her daughter, Yoon-joo, is perfectly happy to keep popping her mom’s boasting bubble. I keep hoping there will be a reason for these wife/daughter scenes, but for now I’m zoning out. See you on the other side.

Geum-jool is doing Sun-woo’s laundry (aww), and Sun-woo suddenly thinks aloud that Jang-il must be worried about him. Geum-jool is ecstatic that Sun-woo remembers his best friend in the whole wide world Jang-il, although we know he remembers more than that. This is getting good.

He begins to dictate a letter to be written to Jang-il. In it, he tells Jang-il that he’s fine and congratulates his friend for getting into law school. “You will be a very successful man in the future,” he adds. While his friend goes to put it in the post before it’s too late, Sun-woo stares blankly ahead.

Sun-woo: “Oh yeah, I forgot the most important sentence. Jang-il, I remember everything. I think I know why you did that. I can’t forgive you. Even until the day I die, I’m not going to forgive you.”

Epic.

Jang-il and Ji-won run into each other on campus, and it’s clear by their friendly banter that they’re somewhat close. They both seem to deny it though, and she turns him down for a coffee date. (Actually, ten whole coffee dates.) But he’s not to be deterred, and leaves movie tickets in her mailbox.

Unfortunately for Jang-il the whole ‘being forward’ thing backfires. Ji-won never shows up for the movie, and he sits through it alone.

Back on campus, one of his colleagues tells him that he’s got mail, and it’s with a huge grin on his face that Jang-il runs to the mailbox thinking that Ji-won has returned his correspondence. The color drains from his face when he sees that it’s a letter from Sun-woo.

Along with what Sun-woo dictated, there’s an addendum from Geum-jool, who tells Jang-il in the letter that Sun-woo still thinks of him as his best friend, and that he should come by when he gets a chance.

Jang-il crumples up the letter with a dark expression.

Chairman Jin’s wife brings up Moon Tae-joo and his whole mining enterprise, which is picking up steam. Despite Chairman Jin’s attempts to get her off the subject she keeps talking, eventually causing him to throw his cup of tea off the table. She gets hysterical about how he broke the good china. End scene.

Ji-won’s got it tough trying to balance her job (managing a ton of kids) along with studying for her classes. Whether that’s the reason she didn’t join Jang-il isn’t clear, but she soon finds Jang-il doing her library job for her. So for the next movie, she joins Jang-il in the theater, who smiles to see her.

Soo-mi has decided to go get Jang-il herself, and shows up in Seoul. Jang-il is incredibly short with her, nearly refusing to give her the time of day. She explains that she wants him to come to see Sun-woo – maybe if he stays with him for a few days, he’ll recover his memories.

Jang-il notes that Sun-woo was well enough to send a letter, which Soo-mi quickly latches onto. Does he think that all is well just because Sun-woo wrote a letter? Jang-il seems to know that she won’t give up, so he tells her that he’ll try to go, which in Jang-il Speak means never.

Poor Soo-mi is still head over heels for him, and wonders if he doesn’t even have time for one cup of tea. He brusquely tells her that there’s somewhere he needs to be and leaves her to go straight to Ji-won. Soo-mi sees everything.

She returns to Sun-woo empty handed, though she suggests that they go to Seoul together so that he can get surgery to fix his eyesight. She’s playing a double objective since she wants to go to be closer to Jang-il, though I’m sure she’s also in it for Sun-woo’s health. I think it’s adorable that Geum-jool is sleeping outside so that he’s there if Sun-woo needs him.

Everyone agrees (Geum-jool included) that they’ll stay in a motel in Seoul until they can find a more permanent place. It’s Sun-woo who suggests that they call Jang-il… he lives in Seoul, right? Sun-woo wants her to ask him if he can lend his place until they find a room. I’m so excited for this.

We don’t hear the contents of the call, but we see Jang-il’s reaction as he listens to Soo-mi. It’s through severely clenched teeth that he says of course Sun-woo can stay with him – in fact, tell him not to worry about a thing. I’m probably sadistic to be ridiculously happy about this living situation.

There’s a cute moment where Sun-woo, as he’s leaving his house, says that he wants to “see” everything one last time. Soo-mi obliges him, and begins to describe his surroundings in perfect detail – from the chipping paint on the gate to the magnolias growing on his neighbor’s tree.

Then we get some intercut scenes where Ji-won reads a love letter by Elizabeth Browning (Ji-won says Elizabeth Brown, but I’m pretty sure she meant famous poet Browning) over scenes of Sun-woo approaching Jang-il’s house, while Jang-il nervously watches and waits from his balcony. I swear I’m trying not to read into this, but a love letter that is deliberately placed over Jang-il and Sun-woo’s reunion scene? Bromance overload.

Jang-il opens the door slowly to see Sun-woo on the other side, and at first his face is blank… until he breaks out into a full smile, and grabs Sun-woo in an embrace. It’s like old times. (And like no one tried to kill each other.)

They sort out living arrangements, with Jang-il assuring them that he’s not being put out at all. When Sun-woo thanks him, Jang-il’s face completely changes as he tells him, “Don’t thank me.” Only it’s somehow creepy at the same time.

Sun-woo is sleeping in the living room so that he has easier access to the bathroom, and Jang-il attempts to sneak by in the middle of the night. Sun-woo shoots up from the couch, having never been asleep, and the two share a tense exchange that culminates in Sun-woo innocently asking, “When was the last time we saw each other?”

Jang-il doesn’t miss a beat. “I don’t know.”

Sun-woo doesn’t let up. Does he really not remember? Jang-il says that he thinks they last met at a BBQ place to eat meat and drink soju. This elicits a laugh from Sun-woo, who remembers the last thing they did together – and it certainly wasn’t drinking.

He says the only thing he can remember is that he’d pay for Jang-il’s tuition… and now he’s sorry that he’s being a burden. Worry creases Jang-il’s face as he asks Sun-woo if he’s sure he doesn’t remember how he got into the accident. Sun-woo says he only remembers that it was cold that day.

“Did I say I was going to the police station?” Sun-woo asks. “I don’t know,” Jang-il replies. Yikes. Jang-il is playing a dangerous game, and even assures Sun-woo that no one is pulling one on him by telling him that he supposedly wanted to go to the police station.

Soo-mi has heard everything, and watches them through a crack in the door. Jang-il goes into his room to think, just as she and Sun-woo do the same. Everyone’s separate, but I’m pretty sure they’re all on the same page.

Meanwhile, Tae-joo is flying his way to Korea, and has a Korean-English conversation with a nearby passenger about “his son”. He plans to take his son to the U.S. and make him the best man in the world.

Jang-il left early in the morning, and Sun-woo is forced to learn about the apartment just based on Soo-mi’s descriptions. He’s able to glean that it’s an expensive, large gift from Chairman Jin – which even Soo-mi finds suspicious, because a scholarship only extends so far. Why go through the trouble of buying Jang-il such a nice place?

Sun-woo knows why, though, and so do we.

Meanwhile, Ji-won reads from a book into a radio microphone, “Can people live without love?” She tells the rest of the story, but I’m pretty sure that question sums up the message we’re to get from this scene.

For whatever reason Sun-woo has been left to wander the college blind and alone, and contrary to normal drama expectations where no one recognizes anyone once they’ve gone from children to adults, Ji-won passes Sun-woo by and immediately recognizes him as the boy from the windshield incident.

She smiles widely to see him, and asks if he remembers her. But then she sees the blank look in his eyes, and slowly realizes that he can’t even see her, much less remember her

COMMENTS

I knew that the age gap between Uhm Tae-woong and Lee Jun-hyuk was going to require a healthy suspension of disbelief, because of the nearly ten-year age difference. Surprisingly, I bought into it fairly easily, because I like both actors enough to be happy to see them together on the same screen.

Here’s what is hard to buy: That instead of having a reasonable amount of drama years passing to net us our growth from the teen actors into the adults, we’ve only gotten two years or less. So, teen Sun-woo changed into Uhm Tae-woong, when it’s only been a couple of years? I’m going to have to call shenanigans on you, Equator Man.

I have to question why the actor switch was reasonable and necessary at this point in the series when a cursory glance at the promotional materials tells us that thirteen years pass before the real revenge plot kicks in. I’m guessing that the idea was to give Uhm Tae-woong & Co. more episodes (rather than having him jump in ‘Thirteen Years Later’), and I’m not complaining about the awesomeness of the Uhmforce, only that it all somehow feels a bit mismanaged.

With that out of the way, the relationship between Sun-woo and Jang-il remains the most compelling, as expected. I can’t tell yet whether Chairman Jin’s wife and daughter are going to be a recurring subplot, even though the signs point to “yes.” Hopefully they’re going somewhere with those characters, because as of now every time his wife and daughter show up on the screen the story screeches to a halt and my brain checks out. I’m not in this drama for the chaebol shenanigans, I’m in it for the brotherly revenge tale.

It’s nice then that every conversation isn’t what it seems to be on the surface. I wasn’t able to read Soo-mi as a teen but she gave off a different vibe than Im Jung-eun does now, although I’m liking Soo-mi more because of it. It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking, so when she acts like she’s caring for Sun-woo there’s always that thought in the back of my mind as to whether she’s really doing it for Sun-woo, or if it’s because of her infatuation with Jang-il.

Sun-woo, too, got a whole lot more interesting now that he has so much more to play. Every conversation he has is a means of finding out something else, and it’s fun to see his mind at work. His conversation with Jang-il had me on pins and needles, and if that’s a taste of what to expect for the rest of the series, I’m all in.

Thanks headno2….
Chemistry between Uhm Tae Wong and Lee Joon Hyuk is awsome as frenemies…. everytime they share the same screen, the athmospere practicaly become electric and delicious. kekeke..
Can’t wait for more!

I agree, I like the two actors. As for the years that have passed. I am preeeetty sure that it is not two years. You don’t take the bar exam in the middle of your undergrad years…so Lee Jun Hyuk probably is in his fourth year (or older) in university. You don’t take the bar exam just after 2 years…Also, it seems like he is a TA or something. I suspect that he is probably in graduate school or something…
In conclusion: it has been more than 2 years. lol

Not sure how it works in Korea, but for Law here I believe that you have to take four years as undergrad and then another three years in Law School. So we’re probably looking at about a seven year time jump.

I was under the impression that Soo Mi had pieced together the evidence and understood what had transpired. It seems like she has some sort of sibling affection for Sun Woo (or maybe guilt feelings because she knew what was going on). What ever the reason, I have to appreciate her character for caring for Sun Woo when he really needs a friend.

I find her obsession with Jang Il unbelievable considering the very few interactions that they actually had. He shared an umbrella, asked her on a date, and then stood her up… I wish that the drama had established a better premise for her devotion. Despite this, she is a very compelling character and I really enjoy the complex mix of darkness and light in her nature.

Thanks so, so much for the recaps which I am enjoying almost as much as the drama.

Agree: “I find her obsession with Jang Il unbelievable considering the very few interactions that they actually had.”

If they could bolster the reason for her hope with a flashback of interaction we haven’t seen yet, him being kind to her instead of being revolted by her, I could forgive Show for this.
As it is, I worry about her intelligence, mostly. I can’t sympathize so I am not pulling for her at all.

hen we get some intercut scenes where Ji-won reads a love letter by Elizabeth Browning (Ji-won says Elizabeth Brown, but I’m pretty sure she meant famous poet Browning) over scenes of Sun-woo approaching Jang-il’s house, while Jang-il nervously watches and waits from his balcony. I swear I’m trying not to read into this, but a love letter that is deliberately placed over Jang-il and Sun-woo’s reunion scene? Bromance overload

Er .. first love and I will protect with my love… I guess it is more natural to say she is talking about their future love!

I dont know why girls dig bromance personally I find it to be annoying

I believe she was talking about when Sun Woo and her first met. As she was reading, didn’t they flash back to that time? Now, Jang-Il might have thought she was talking about him but then he is about as obsessed with her as crazy Soo-Mi is about him. What a crazy circle weaved!

Thanks for the recap, heads!
I lol’ed at this:
“she’s helping a blind person cross the street. I bet that skill is going to come in handy later.”
Subtlety is NOT important to these writers, is it?
HEY EVERYONE! GUESS WHO IS GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH SW?

OK, I promise this is the last time I comment about this:
The sometimes too much music continues to irritate me.
The beautiful images should protest against their treatment. Paired keener, more specific themes, this could feel like a film, instead of daytime TV.
The scene of the trio in JI’s aparteu, all reflecting about the fact that JI killed SW and don’t we all know it, with the individual shots intercutting – should NOT have hurried violins, drums and THAT STUPID CYMBAL. It puts too much distance between us and them.

JI, trying to appear cheerful with the old gang moving into his designer space, doesn’t get that SW clearly hears the faked happy tones of JI’s voice, no matter how big the smile is. Do you feel that SW is heartbroken over his BFF killing him, or just angry. Young SW would have been heartbroken.

I want the blindness to end soon. Yes, yes, we get it, JI has destroyed SW completely without succeeded at killing him.
But for revenge, SW has to recover his vision. We know he can see because of the first episode, right? So let’s end this part double quick, please?

I was at first concerned about the age difference between the two male leads, but Uhm Tae-woong and Lee Jun-hyuk have such fantastic chemistry that I don’t think about their respective ages at all when they’re on-screen together.

And the only explanation I can think of for Sun-woo’s very premature aging, is that being in the water for so long must’ve made his skin wrinkle.

Things are really getting good now. I wonder if Sun Woo will get to see how much guilt Jang Il feels about his death and whether that is the reason he waits to take his revenge. I’m also interested in whether Soo Mi is trying to help Sun Woo or Jang Il. If she finds out the truth that Jang Il tried to kill Sun Woo, whose side will she be on?!?

I think Soo-mi knows a lot, and is gonna use that to get Jang-il by her side.

I am fine with the time jump and becoming the adult cast quite abruptly, because I understand that the selling point of the show is the adult actors right from the beginning. Ratings consideration.

But I just feel hard to relate to Soo-mi’s infatuation given that so little interactions/events between them were shown.

Plus I find it hard to believe that Jang-Il can be under the same roof as Sun-woo because it is still not clear what he remembers. If I did the same things I would think my friend-turned-enemy will just come into my room at night with a sledgehammer and crush my skull. Feels too much like a contrived plot just to have them do intense scenes together.

Still enjoying it though, something unabashedly angsty and dark for a change.

Actually what I meant was Sunwoo killing Jangil and not the other way round. I know he is blind, but the guilt and possibility will always weigh hard on someone who did such bad things to the other. He could like find some other arrangements, but the show just needs to put them together without giving viewers a more convincing reason.

‘For whatever reason Sun-woo has been left to wander the college blind and alone, and contrary to normal drama expectations where no one recognizes anyone once they’ve gone from children to adults, Ji-won passes Sun-woo by and immediately recognizes him as the boy from the windshield incident.’

I found this paragraph really, really funny for some reason and laughed my heart out for three good minutes XD
Even though I love Uhmforce and Lee Junhyuk with all my heart, I could never ever watch a drama this angsty (reading your episode 4 recap had me goosebumped and heartached,, can’t even imagined what pain will I went through if I watch this drama)
So thank you very much, HeadsNo2 for recapping this, thanks thanks thanks!!!

Even though there is a large age gap, both actors are doing well in their roles. The two kids who played their young counterparts were excellent!
I hope they end the blindness part soon with Sun Woo’s REAL? father who will take him to U.S. and give him eye surgery.
Story is starting to drag and become predictable. You know who Ji Won is going to fall in love with, and you can practically tell what going on Sun Woo’s mind.
Sun Woo has to regain his eyesight soon and get revenge on Jang Il who thinks he’s going to live on easy street in the future.
Can’t wait until the S..T hits the fan! Thanks for the recaps!

Thank you so much for the recap! I am in love with this drama now– Thank You UhmForce It was good before but this episode put me right where I want to be with this drama. (It’s the magic of episode 5. Works everytime )

But I completely agree with the adult actors. It just feels sloppy but after you get over that in your mind, it works.

The Chairman is a jealous bast*rd. And clearly his fiance and TJ were only friends. He’s an idiot. It is telling though that Sunwoo’s dad had a point, Mom was frightened of Jin for some reason. Also, is it just me but, Why are Jin and his wife together? What does she have on him?

As for Soomi, I hate her. She is in the same boat with Jangil, which makes her unforgivable to me. I don’t care what she knows or doesn’t because either way she’s going to cling to Jangil. Her infatuation with him makes no sense to me. I have zero respect for her. Her betrayal of Sunwoo is inevitable and I hate that for him more than anything. For I’m not sure he’s at the point where he trusts “no one” (though he should be).

At first I thought the coma lasted 13-15 years! Even adult Jang Il with his relatively young looks still looks more like a lecturer or doing his Masters degree than someone about to take his bar exam. They sure don’t look like they’re in their early 20s. Haha the most ridiculous is the Chairman’s daughter – she looks 40 years old!

I was turned off by the vileness of the characters – who are all – safe for the young Sun-Woo, flawed though he may be – unbelievably selfish, self-absorbed and two-faced, including Soo-Mi. Why she has such an obsession (and unhealthy fixation to the detriment of her ethical codex insisting her father never tell anyone – EVER) is beyond me.

If I wouldn’t know better, I would almost pick up a pseudo-homoerotic touch to this ‘brotherly’ “friendship”… Some of the glances are so full of ‘emotional charge (the young actors who get a “too short shrift” IMHO)…one could really think they’re in love with each other rather than be interested in girls.

I find the ‘adult’ Soo-Mi weak in her portrayal (lame duck, more like) and immature to not do more for her ‘supposed’ friend Sun-Woo just to ‘protect’ Jang-il.

She’s dangerously conniving in her stupid self-interest for Jang-il – which is extremely unnerving and it makes her a despicable character who doesn’t deserve any genuine appreciation or sympathy for leaving Sun-Woo hanging to dry and who’s partly responsible for Sun-Woo ending up being hit by Jang-il.

I do NOT like this drama. Too much filth on two legs occupying the screen – everybody just in it for themselves. Even reading the recaps just confirms what made me turn away from EM, aside from a bad ‘time switch’ “jump” that is absolutely lacking in credibility.

Other than that, I can’t ever understand why people scream so much in K-dramas. Can’t they ever talk in a normal voice? They always sound like they’re shouting at each other and then they’re surprised everybody finds out about their stinking agendas or things that are supposed to stay ‘secret’.

You do realize the SW was JI first friend? This is why the betrayal is so bad! He took a beating for him; rescued him and his Dad from the gangsters; stabbed the guy in the leg to save JI. Agree, this drama is definitely not for everyone. I love revenge ones especially if the revenge makes perfect sense! And what I also love is the SW (the adult) pays attention to his surroundings!

Thank you so much for the recap!
i started watching for the child actor(s)
but reading this recap now….i think the story would continue to be interesting n perhaps less predictable than i had thought in the earlier….if i am to ignore things i consider minor like who Jiwon’s gonna fall for or meet soon (i mean…i’ve known it since her first meeting with sunwoo as a kid…no big deal)

but i feel that most of us are underestimating Soomi as a character. i appreciate her complexity n i can’t call her outright dumb for falling for a jerk. ok, so you’re supposed to fall for nice guys who don’t treat you badly. but c’mon…guess why bad boys are more popular than nice guys? lol. ok..that’s not my argument. Jangil did approach n be nice to her twice before he turned cold. n at that moment, we don’t know about Soomi’s relationship with other people at all….maybe he appeared n be nice at the time she felt the most outcasted n thus left a deep impression on her. that n his prettiness to add perhaps. i don’t know what’s exactly going on her head….that’s what i find intriguing about her though her infatuation with Jangil may appear as simpleton fangirl. don’t we see it in dramas all the time that you can’t control who you fall for? anyway…i’m loving her relationship with Sunwoo….because i can’t be sure how sincere she is with him…n it’d be interesting to see whether she’ll betray him n whether she’ll be included in the list of people Sunwoo would want to revenge on later….ok i’m going too far with this…i’d love to see Soomi taking Sunwoo’s side against Jangil for once though i’m not sure if that’d happen.

anyway, Geum Jool sounds so sweet. now, that’s your friend, Sunwoo.
at first i rolled my eyes mentally when i heard the plot would have things like ‘blindness’ but now seeing how it affects their actions…i think it goes with the plot n gives reason to throw our frenemies back together in the same space. n the fact that Sunwoo ‘knows’ despite his blindness, n that there’s Soomi who you have no idea is on whose side if something bad is about to happen(like…2nd murder attempt? lol…)
n i like it that Sunwoo seems more interesting now that he’s not your goody good boy anymore. i mean, he’s still the good guy…but dark n more twisted than before i guess. though it’s not aligned with his sweetheart friend character in his teen. of course he’d change, after what Jangil did…..but deep down..i hope there’s still that love for Jangil in him….because the teen Sunwoo is just so…pure. xD sometimes i wish Jangil would just drop the act n apologize to Sunwoo….even if Sunwoo would not forgive him, at least i want him to try…save the bromance. lol.

anyway…biggest complaint is…..wth….only a few years have passed n Jangil n Jiwon are still students? okay..seriously……can’t they just hang on with the young actors for a couple more episodes until they grow into 10+ years later part? because it’d be just weird that say..2 years changed them so much while 13 years left them with no changes at all. how logical! i don’t think their young age would hinder their acting. Siwan did a good job(at least for me) with Jangil..n it’d be nice to see Hyunwoo getting a chance to act as this ‘dark’ ver. of Sunwoo. sigh………..we’d have plenty of times with the adult cast….why the rush?…..okay..i guess they can’t wait to get the ratings up…..n the ratings did went up…but Hyunwoo->UhmTaewoong in just 2 years? *blank*

really if we gonna give the teen half the show why not give the whole show cause this phase is gonna last for another couple of episodes I cant see where is the big deal are princes travelling through time or fictional kings more believable lol seriously everybody here lacks imagination

I think there are two jumps in time; the first, SW’s awakening; the second will be a healthy SW and his steps to revenge. JI and JW, law school and grad school; respectively is believable. Yes, I also believe the teen JI and JW do favor a lot. ppl say how could JW recognize SW? Believe me, after 30 years, I would recognize my first love immediately!

Thank you for the wonderful recap HeadsNo2!! I’m really enjoying this drama as its been a long time since I’ve watch a gritty and complex drama like this, can’t actually wait until Sun-woo’s revenge kicks in because that will be meaty stuff for the actors to portray.

your comments about the drama being predictable cause we know that Jiwoon will fall for Sunwoo is just hilarious I mean leading lady falling for leading man ? like this never happens in every single drama out there mention one that this does not happen maybe the PD should make it more interesting and make her fall for Geum Jool lol

we are talking about Obsession here, not everyone needs much to be obsessed over something – there isn’t these kids obsessed with their idols even though they don’t really know nothing about them? Or ever met them?

Her obsession started when he treated her nice.
After that I think she just had this desire to make him hers no matter what, and even though he just treated her badly later, I think this just makes her wishes to make him hers even more….

Does’t have these kind of people that the hardest things get, more determined they get in winning it? And when things are easy they get bored and not interested ?

I love seeing Lee Joon Hyuk as a villain! I fell in love with him in I am Legend, continued to City Hunter and now this! He has been playing good guys all along so this is a nice change and shows what I already recognized as a good actor!!